For decades, tobacco's power on Capitol Hill was legendary -- thanks to generous campaign contributions, well-connected lobbyists and the seniority of tobacco-state lawmakers.
That power helped the industry survive and even thrive for years after the U.S. surgeon general in 1965 mandated that cigarette packages carry the iconic warning label: "Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health."
Four years later, cigarette advertising was banished from television and radio. But it was two more decades before Congress passed one of the most dramatic limits on the use of tobacco products -- the 1990 ban on smoking on U.S. domestic airplane flights.
After the Supreme Court in 2000 ruled that the FDA did not have authority to regulate tobacco, anti-cigarette forces in Congress began the long journey to enact legislation that would give the agency that power.
The political landscape improved for tobacco foes as the smoking population dwindled -- an estimated 20% of American adults now smoke, down from 42% in 1965 -- and the health risks became better known.
Public health advocates have battled the industry through lawsuits as well as legislation at all levels of government. And early this year, Congress approved the largest-ever increase in the federal cigarette tax -- raising it 62 cents to $1.01 a pack -- to pay for expanding a federal-state healthcare program for children.
Still, this year's FDA legislation faced continued resistance from tobacco-state lawmakers. Sen. Richard M. Burr (R-N.C.) and other critics argued that the bill should focus more on reducing the risk of tobacco products than on preventing people from smoking in the first place.
"They are not doing anything to reduce the risk of death or disease," Burr said before the Senate rejected an amendment to rewrite the bill to allow more "reduced risk" products like smokeless tobacco.
The 17 senators who voted against the bill were mostly from tobacco-growing states; all but one were Republicans.
Other GOP lawmakers joined Democrats in hailing the bill as an important public health measure that was especially welcome as Congress embarks on an overhaul of the nation's healthcare system.
"We all bear the increased financial cost of the diminished health of smokers," said Sen. Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming, ranking Republican on the health committee. "Every senior who smokes creates a further strain on Medicare."
